Rustic Italian Food

Rustic Italian Food By Marc Vetri with David Joachim, Ten Speed Press, 2011. Hardcover. $35; 291 pages

Two things come through with great force in this book: Philly-based chef Marc Vetri’s exuberant, opinionated voice (“If you are thinking of using part-skim mozzarella, stop thinking”) and his love of cooking. (“People tell me it’s a pain in the ass to make pasta. For me, there is nothing more relaxing.”) Simple, hands-on, from-scratch cooking is the deal here. Most of the recipes hew to the notion of “fewer ingredients, better quality,” although some require a serious time investment.

GIVE THIS TO: Ambitious cooks who love diving into projects. —Sidney Fry, MS, RD